Games, to have lasting value and ongoing use, must provide sufficient variety to maintain interest of the players and sufficient challenge to spark competitiveness between the players.
The present game, because of its design, meets the two requirements in a unique fashion. Each player sequentially must place a smooth playing piece either directly or in a cantilever fashion upon the upper surface of a base member. The base member has a limited dimension thereby often requiring the subsequent players to use the weight of one or more of the playing pieces previously placed upon the platform to support his piece as he wedges it onto the playing surface or hangs it from an exposed ledge. The pieces, as they are stacked upon each other, create a downward pressure allowing multiple cantilevering outwardly and effectively increasing the size of the support surface. The players, by predetermined agreement, determine the total number of layers that may be placed upon the playing surface. The limitation upon the total number of layers has a direct relationship to the complexity and thus the competitiveness of the game.
Other games have used the principle of stacking or unstacking objects for their challenge. These games include games wherein a plurality of elongated objects are randomly in a pile and the object is to remove objects without disturbing others. Another variety is utilizing pieces of irregular configuration with the object being to stack as many as possible without toppling the structure. Games on the market which are included in these categories include Ta-Ka-Radi, Jenga and Topples.
Patented games which utilize similar rules include:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,655, granted to Kurita on Jun. 12, 1990, which discloses an elastic support upon which game pieces are stacked.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,636, granted to Pagani on Apr. 16, 1992, discloses a game apparatus for a variety of games, including an unstable platform upon which playing pieces are stacked.
British Patent 510581, granted Aug. 3, 1939, discloses a game wherein sticks are stacked on top of a cup.
With the above-noted prior art in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-dimensional game requiring strategy and skill.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a game which may be played equally well by participants of various ages.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a game which incorporates the basic theory of balance.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a game which may be played by individuals or, in the alternative, by a group of players taking alternate turns.
Yet another object is to provide a challenging game for a single player.